Fireproof safe door



C. P. BARTELS .FIREPROOF SAFE DOOR July 2a, 1925.

Filed Sept INVENTIOR ATTORNEY Patented July 28, 1925'.

UNITED STATES PATIENTOIFFIFCE. f

CARL r. BARTELS, or HAMILTON, OHIO, AssIGNoR, TO THE MOSLER sAFE'ooMrAN'Y,

or HAMILTON, 01110, A" CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

FIREPROOFYSAFE noon.

Application 'filed September 26, 1924. Serial No. 740,600. I

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CARL P. BAR'IELS,

a citizen of the United States, residing at;

Hamilton, in the county of Butler and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fireproof Safe Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to safe doors, and the principal aim of the invention is to provide means for establishing a fireproof seal across the dooway when the safe is subjected to a fire hazard to prevent entrance of heat, flame, smoke, and steam, or the'like, into the interior ofthe safe,'and thus prote ct the contents of the safe from damage and injury by these elements.

Another object of this inventionis to pro vide simple means for holding an auxiliary or valve door portion in place on a main door portion in such a way that the valve door will be released automatically from the main door at a comparatively low temperature, and will become seated against cooperating jamb shoulders to form an effective fireproof seal across the doorway, said means under normal conditions, however, holding the valve door securely in proper position on the main door.

A further objectof this invention is to simplify the construction and to reduce the cost of manufacture, and to secure a very light construction. V

Other objectsof this invent-ion will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. I I

In accordance with this invention, the valve door is secured to the main door by means which include solder, or other suit able material which melts or fuses at comparatively low temperature, the effectiveness of the means being' depending upon the condition of the solder in such a way that when the solder is hard, as under normal temperature conditions, the valve door is held to the main door in proper position, and when the solder is fused, as under abnormally high temperature conditions, the valve door can be displaced from the main door.- There also are means which" cause the valve door to' seat firmly against shoulders on the safe jamb to establish and to maintainan effective fireproof seal, in

the manner of a valve, when the valve (1001" is freed from the main door in consequence of the melting of the solder, and irrespective of warping of the main door.

This invention accordingly consists in the I features of construction, combinations of f elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In order'that a clearer understanding of my invention may be had," attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and illus trating certain possible embodiments of my invention. Referring toth'e drawings, Fig.

1 is a sectional view ofa safe door e1n--' bodying this invention, associated with the jamb portion of a safe, the middle of the door being broken away, and Figs. 2, 3, 4t and 5 are each a sectional view of a fragment of the door showing a different modified form of stud for holding the valve door on the main (10 011 i a 1 Similar reference characters referto similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, thedoor com prises a main door 1 andfa valvedoor 2 secured to'the main door "by -mea'ns ofa' suitable number ofstuds 3, which engage! both doors; As'shown, each stud3 has a shank 4 extending throughthe valve door,

with a head .5 on one sidev of the valve door and a threaded'end 6, engaged in. a

threaded perforation or recess 7 intheback plate 8 of the. main door. The doorsl and 2 are held normally some distance apart, as determined by the length of shank 4 with respect'to the thickness of the valve door, by means of plate springs 9, which are interposed between the doors, and which may be held against displacement by being pene tratedby the studs 3. The valve door is slidable on the stud shanks'd against the pressure of springs 9. I is provided with shoulders 11 against which the valve door 2 is adapted to seat to close the doorway of the safe, and the valve door may be arranged to seat against" these By constructing thestuds 3 of two parts The. safe jamb 10 I will now. bedes'cribed.

As shown in Fig. 2, the stud 12 may comprise a pin 13 threaded into the head 14 and seating within a recess 15 in the shank 16 which is in threaded engagements with the back plate 8 of the door 1, there being solder 17 in the recess 15 which secures the pin 13 and shank 16 together until the solder melts, in'whichevent the head 14 and shank 16 are free to move apart and the valve door 2 may move from the main door.

The pin 13 may be integral with the head 14, if desired, and the threaded end of the shank may bereduced, as at 13 (see Fig. 3), to provide shoulders 19, which may seat against the back plate of the door to prevent shearing of the threads by inward pressure establishedby movement of the valve door onthe stud shank.

As shown in Fig. 4, the stud 20 may com-' prise a pin 21 in threaded engagement with the main door back plate 8 and extending 111- to a recess 22 111 the shank 23 which carries the head 24, there being solder 25 in the re-' cess 22 whichholds the pin 21 and shank 23 together until the solder fuses. 7

As shown in Fig. 5, the stud 26 may comprise a shank 27 which at one end is in threaded. engagement with the back plate 8', and which, at the other end, seats in a recess 28. in the head 29, there being solder 30 in the recess 28 holding the shank and head together until the solder fuses.

The cheapness, simplicity and etliciency of the construction will be readily apparent. VVhenthe heat, conducted through the metallic studs, or otherwise, to thesolder in the studs fuses the solder, the springs 9 firmly seat the valve door against the jamb shoulders 11. Vapor pressure against the outside of the valve door, created by heat or fire, also serves to seat and hold the valve door more firmly against these amb shoulders. Thus there is established and maintained an effective seal across the safe doorway which will tend to prevent heat, fire, steam, or the like, from passingthe valve door, and gain ing access to the-contents of the safe. The valve door,,being freed from restraint by the studs when the solder fuses, is maintain ed in sealing position irrespective of the warping or bulging of the main door, as oftenoccurs under the high temperatures of warm? a fire hazard. It will be apparent that the solder will fuse before the fire hazard has reached a. great height, and .thus the sealing of the doorway will be effected very quickly when a fire hazard arises, and the sealing will not be delayed long enough to permit previous harm-to the. safe contents.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is 1. In a door of the character described, in

combination, a main door, a valve door, and

means holding the valve door in place on said main door and responsiveto heat to release the valve door from the'main door. 2. in a door of the character descr1bed,-in

combination, a main door, a valve door, and

means holding the valve door in place on said main door and responsive to heat to release the valve doorfrom the main door, said means including readily fusible material substantially aS described.

3. In a door of the character describechin combination, a main door, a valve door, and means holding the valve door in place on said main door andresponsive to heat to release the valve door from the main door,-

said means including two members normally held together and adapted to come apart at a certain temperature, one memebr engaging the valve door and the other member engaging the main door.

4. In a door of the character described, in combination, a valve door, a main door,

and a stud including a portionengaging the main door and another portion engaging the valve door, and means, including fusible material. holding; said stud portions together when'the material is hard,- and releasing said portions from each other when the material is fused, whereby said valve door is held to said main door" when the fusible material is hard and is released therefrom when the material is fused.

5. In a door of the character described, in combination, a valve door, a main door, and a stud including a portion engaging the maindoor and another portion engaging the valve door, and means, including fusible material holding said stud portions together when the material is hard, and releasing said portions from each other when the ma:- terial is fused, whereby said val've'door is held to said main door when the fusible material is hard and is released therefrom when the material is fused, one of said stud portions having a recess and the other stud portion having a part seatedin saidjrecessg.

the fusible material being in said recess and engaging the adjacent parts of both stud portions.

6. In a door of the character described, in combination, a valve door, a main door,

and a stud including a head portion engagextending through the valve door, and the valve door being movable on said shank, substantially as described.

8. In a door of the character described, in combination, a valve door, a main door, a stud including a head portion engaging the valve door and another portion engaging the main door, said portions being soldered together by readily fusible material, substantially as described, and a spring compressed between the valve door and the main door urging the doors to move apart.

9. In a door of the character described, in combination, a valve door, a main door, a stud including ahead portion engaging the valve door and another portion engaging the main door, said portions being soldered together by readily fusible material, substantially as described, and a spring compressed between the valve door and the main door urging the doors to move apart, the stud shank penetrating the spring, whereby the spring is held in place.

10. In a door of the character described, in combination, a main door, a valve door, and means holding the valve door in'place on said main door and responsive. to heat to release the valve door from the main door, and means for moving the valve door away from the main door when released therefrom by the holding means.

11. In a door of the character described, in combination, a main door, a valve door, and means holding the valve door in place on said main door and responsive to heat to release the valve door from the main door, a jamb portion having shoulders for the valve door, and means for seating the valve door, when released from the main door by said holding means, against said shoulders.

12. In a door of the character described, in combination, a main door, a'v'alve door, and means holding the valve door in place on said main door, for limited movement thereon, and responsive to heat to release the valve door from the main door.

This specification signed this 13th day of September, 1924.

CARL P. BARTELS. 

